


Glitch

by spiderfire



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Memories, Non-Linear Narrative, POV Bucky Barnes, Post-HYDRA Reveal, Recovered Memories, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-27 23:46:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5069545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiderfire/pseuds/spiderfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fall leaves are intoxicating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glitch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nan/gifts).



He looked down at his feet as he walked. His heavy black boots crunched through a bed of yellow leaves. The leaves were dry and fluffy. The yellows were beginning to fade to brown. 

He took a step, dragging his toe so the leaves rustled around his ankle, the stem of one leaf tangling in his laces. His foot left gap in red carpet, revealing the damp, muddy ground beneath. The smell that rose out of the churned up leaves was intoxicating - earthy, damp and a little sweet with the smell of rot. The feeling that the smells stirred in his chest was unfamiliar. It made him feel light and he took a swipe at a small heap of leaves in front of him, kicking it with his foot. He smiled. It reminded him of…it reminded him of…he was wearing sneakers. They were brown, made of dirty canvas that had once been white. He dragged his feet through a pile brown leaves that mounded up around his calves and then he took a big step to get his foot up and over the pile. He stomped on them. The crunch they made was loud, crackling like a just-lit fire. The smell of fall - crisp and clean under a bright blue sky made him feel so good, he bounced on his toes and took a skipping step, following the boy in ragged trousers and a too-small jacket that was ahead of him. “Hey, Steve,” he shouted. “Wait up!” 

Ka-click. Ka-click. Ka-click. Three rifles cocked and suddenly adrenaline was pouring through his system. His heart was pounding. The world came into razor-sharp, high-contrast focus. His own body moved automatically, raising the gun, cocking it, dropping into a defensive stance. He found himself staring down Karpov’s rifle. To Karpov’s side was the girl, also with her rifle pointed squarely at his head. The girl’s face was white, but Karpov was calm and rock steady. 

The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up, hard and tingling and he knew that the mission’s medic, who was bringing up the rear, must have his gun leveled on him from behind. 

What was he doing? These were his men, not the enemy. Slowly, deliberately, he thumbed the safety on the rifle and brought his feet together, straightening up. He let go of the gun, letting it settle on the shoulder strap and lifted his hands. 

“What was that?” Karpov demanded. 

“What?” he asked, replying in the language he was spoken to, in Russian. 

“Bucky?” Steve said, warily. 

He felt like he was falling, falling. He looked down at his feet. The black toes of his boots peaked out through the shin-deep in a pile of yellow leaves that had collected around his legs. He was wearing blue jeans that were damp and dirty around the ankles. 

His metal hand clutched the pistol he usually wore in the small of his back. It was pointed at the ground. 

He looked up, taking in the trees, the fall leaves, six, seven, eight civilians. The nearest one was twenty-three meters to his right, the furthest was...was...

He remembered now. Zola. Alexandre. The medic Oslow. Karpov, especially Karpov. Pierce. The lot. 

He met Steve’s eyes for a moment. Steve was concerned, as he well should be. He hadn’t screwed up yet, but he had gone off mission letting a flashback got the better of him. Hastily he stuffed the gun back in its holster. “Sorry,” he said. 

Steve looked him over but, by this point, he didn’t press. “You okay?” Steve asked. 

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.”


End file.
